Ex-admiral from Canastota to lead Columbus Day Parade in New York City

Myles Cullen / U.S. Air ForceU.S. Navy Adm. Edmund Giambasitani, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is piped-in at the beginning of his retirement ceremony in Annapolis, Md., on July 27, 2007.

A Canastota native who rose from working muck fields on his grandfather's onion farm to serve as the nation's second-highest-ranking military officer will lead the country's largest celebration of Italian-American heritage and culture next month.

Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. was named the grand marshal of the Columbus Day Parade in New York City, a celebration of Italian-American heritage and achievement that has marched up Fifth Avenue for 64 years.

The admiral retired last year after 37 years of military service, which began aboard nuclear submarines in the U.S. Navy and concluded with a two-year stint as Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He was known within the military and by President George W. Bush as "Admiral G." But folks around Central New York still call the 1966 graduate of Canastota High School by his first nickname, "Butch."

And although he hasn't lived in Canastota since graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Madison County village celebrated Giambastiani's latest achievement.

"How many people from Canastota have ever led a parade in New York City?" said Lenox Supervisor Rocky DiVeronica, who traces his own Italian heritage to a small town near Rome and remembers coaching Giambastiani in wrestling. "Probably never. (Boxing great) Carmen Basilio is the only one who comes close to having that notoriety."

The parade, which attracts about 35,000 marchers each year, will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 13 and broadcast by NBC affiliates and by RAI Italian television.